Pin It
I was hanging out with a few friends tonight, and we decided to give On Lot 10 a try. I had missed an opportunity to come here a few weeks ago, and looked forward to checking out the cuisine.
The restaurant's menu was small but full of surprises. I ended up choosing 3 starters, which were all more interesting than your run-of-the-mill French fare. I was getting really impressed with the the menu put together by the chef.
I started with some rabbit rillettes. It's not often that one finds rillettes made with rabbit in Asia, as it's usually pork. I love rillettes, and this one was pretty nice. Very fine strands of meat fiber, very smooth on the tongue, and not too fatty.
I had a bite of my friend's boudin Basque, which was nicely pan-fried to dissolve some of the fat in the blood sausage. I didn't have any of the caramelized apple because I wanted the full flavors of the sausage.
Crispy tête de cochon came next. I love that they have this on the menu, although it wasn't as good as the one I had last month. Pig skin, pig's ear, pig cheeks and tongue wrapped together. There were big pieces of crunchy ear which kinda ruined an otherwise soft and smooth texture. The garnish on the side consisted of capers, chopped gherkins and cheese, using the acidity to balance the fat of the head cheese.
Finally I had some andouillette, which was off the menu but was offered to me by the waiter instead of something else I wanted. I think what I got was half of a sausage, pan-fried along with a chunk of caramelized pear. I looooove andouillette, but this one was a little extra chewy. At least the flavors were all there, although I'm not sure some of my companions appreciated the smell.
My friend brought along two bottles of wine, which we did not finish as the ladies weren't drinking much. The 2001 Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet drank very well, with nose of lemon, toast, minerals...very ripe nose and a little buttery.
The 2007 Torbreck the Struie was drunk way too young, but it was pretty much what I expected from David Powell. Huge sweet nose, with lots of minerals, oak, orange, a hint of smoke, vanilla and caramel. Really a lot like American Syrah...
I didn't have a huge amount of food, but they were all pretty rich, which left no room for dessert. I was happy just to stop here, and it was a pretty good meal. Maybe next time I'll come back for the roast suckling pig...
June 4, 2010
June 3, 2010
The other Marchese Antinori
Pin It
OK, so it's probably unfair to call him "the other Marchese", as he is the patriarch of the family and the elder of the two famous brothers. However I did get to know Lodovico first, so Piero will always be "the other brother" in my book...
This afternoon I was fortunate to have been invited to a vertical tasting of Solaia, the flagship wine of the Antinori empire. The tasting was presided over by Marchese Piero Antinori, who is the driving force behind the wine. Piero filled us in on the history of Solaia, as well as some background on its sibling Tignanello, widely recognized as the first IGT or "Super Tuscan".
1978 Solaia - this was the very first vintage of Solaia, made with vines which were 3 years old. I have a bottle of this and almost opened it a few weeks ago, but I'm glad I kept it. This was an amazing wine - most certainly my favorite of the tasting. The nose was classically claret, with smoke, grilled meats, sweet black fruits, mint, maybe a hint of orange and apricot. After a little while the nose evolved into something different and just blew me away... lots of bacon fat, sweet and a little floral. Even later, nose of green peppers, heavy cigar smoke, farmy, dare I say braised beef (紅燒牛肉)? Absolutely beautiful! On the palate it was still a little tannic and grippy, despite the high acidity. The finish was very long, and a little hot and alcoholic.
1988 Solaia - the nose was much more ripe, open and hot, with strewed prunes, sweet, cigar smoke, a little medicinal and brett. After a while the sweetness really came through, which then developed into an overripe, cooked nose. Finally the nose was dominated by burnt rubber and Chinese medicinal herbs. The acidity of the wine was evident, but again the finish was a little grippy.
1994 Solaia - sweet fruit, a little plastic, burnt rubber, caramel and pine needle. A hint of ripeness and a little floral. Light smoke and obvious coffee. A very nice and elegant wine. Medium-high acidity, with reasonably soft tannins and a very long finish.
1997 Solaia - kinda disappointed in this wine from the blockbuster vintage. The nose was still closed, with some brett, smoke, limited amount of sweet fruit and a little apricot. There were still some chewy tannins. My last encounter with this wine was 8 years ago, and even back then it was relatively shut against a lineup of other 1997 Super Tuscans and required more than 3 hours to open up.
2004 Solaia - more concentration here, with forest and smoke. The wine opened up more with a little time. Smooth and silky on the palate.
2006 Solaia - nose was very sweet and pretty extracted, a little "hot", with mint, tropical fruit, toffee, and a little alcoholic. This was a young wine and you can see that the new oak hasn't quite integrated with the wine. Stylistically one would even suspect this was more "New World"... But nose was beautiful and toffee and caramel dominated later. The tannins of this wine were surprisingly soft for something so young.
2007 Solaia - this was another blockbuster vintage, and the wine has yet to be released. Nose was more concentrated, with blackcurrant, oak, vanilla, some spices like cardamom, sweet and alcoholic. Let's see how this wine turns out in another 10 years.
I got a chance to introduce myself to Piero and mentioned about my dinner with Lodovico. It's a shame that the two brothers could not travel together as originally planned, but hopefully we will get a chance to see them together soon. There's always next year...
OK, so it's probably unfair to call him "the other Marchese", as he is the patriarch of the family and the elder of the two famous brothers. However I did get to know Lodovico first, so Piero will always be "the other brother" in my book...
This afternoon I was fortunate to have been invited to a vertical tasting of Solaia, the flagship wine of the Antinori empire. The tasting was presided over by Marchese Piero Antinori, who is the driving force behind the wine. Piero filled us in on the history of Solaia, as well as some background on its sibling Tignanello, widely recognized as the first IGT or "Super Tuscan".
1978 Solaia - this was the very first vintage of Solaia, made with vines which were 3 years old. I have a bottle of this and almost opened it a few weeks ago, but I'm glad I kept it. This was an amazing wine - most certainly my favorite of the tasting. The nose was classically claret, with smoke, grilled meats, sweet black fruits, mint, maybe a hint of orange and apricot. After a little while the nose evolved into something different and just blew me away... lots of bacon fat, sweet and a little floral. Even later, nose of green peppers, heavy cigar smoke, farmy, dare I say braised beef (紅燒牛肉)? Absolutely beautiful! On the palate it was still a little tannic and grippy, despite the high acidity. The finish was very long, and a little hot and alcoholic.
1988 Solaia - the nose was much more ripe, open and hot, with strewed prunes, sweet, cigar smoke, a little medicinal and brett. After a while the sweetness really came through, which then developed into an overripe, cooked nose. Finally the nose was dominated by burnt rubber and Chinese medicinal herbs. The acidity of the wine was evident, but again the finish was a little grippy.
1994 Solaia - sweet fruit, a little plastic, burnt rubber, caramel and pine needle. A hint of ripeness and a little floral. Light smoke and obvious coffee. A very nice and elegant wine. Medium-high acidity, with reasonably soft tannins and a very long finish.
1997 Solaia - kinda disappointed in this wine from the blockbuster vintage. The nose was still closed, with some brett, smoke, limited amount of sweet fruit and a little apricot. There were still some chewy tannins. My last encounter with this wine was 8 years ago, and even back then it was relatively shut against a lineup of other 1997 Super Tuscans and required more than 3 hours to open up.
2004 Solaia - more concentration here, with forest and smoke. The wine opened up more with a little time. Smooth and silky on the palate.
2006 Solaia - nose was very sweet and pretty extracted, a little "hot", with mint, tropical fruit, toffee, and a little alcoholic. This was a young wine and you can see that the new oak hasn't quite integrated with the wine. Stylistically one would even suspect this was more "New World"... But nose was beautiful and toffee and caramel dominated later. The tannins of this wine were surprisingly soft for something so young.
2007 Solaia - this was another blockbuster vintage, and the wine has yet to be released. Nose was more concentrated, with blackcurrant, oak, vanilla, some spices like cardamom, sweet and alcoholic. Let's see how this wine turns out in another 10 years.
I got a chance to introduce myself to Piero and mentioned about my dinner with Lodovico. It's a shame that the two brothers could not travel together as originally planned, but hopefully we will get a chance to see them together soon. There's always next year...
May 31, 2010
'85 Burgundy horizontal
Pin It
Tonight I returned to Caprice as we gathered for another MNSC dinner. It's been a pretty rough month as far as financial markets go, so I was pretty happy to have an occasion to toast the end of this fairly miserable month...
The amuse bouche consisted of duck rillettes on toast, dauphinoise potato, and tomato and eggplant purée. Neither the rillettes nor the dauphinoise came in a form I expected, but both tasted pretty yummy. The cold purée was exceptional and refreshing.
Petits gris snails fricassée, Jabugo ham, tomato and eggplant in black garlic sauce - this was pretty yummy. It's been a while since I last had some escargot, and the combination with tomato and eggplant worked pretty well.
Roasted cod fillet, Vaucluse white asparagus and wild mushroom in light emulsion - cod is one of my favorite fish as I love the texture. The accompanying mushrooms and white asparagus were very, very tasty - especially the mushrooms.
Racan pigeon en croûte, nori seaweed, foie gras, broad bean and artichoke fricassée - oh yes, my current favorite dish at Caprice... I was honestly kinda full when this arrived in front of me, having had a little too much bread with that awesome butter... we were joking about how the foie kinda oozed and fell out of the pastry shell as we tried to cut into it. Lots of calories and cholesterol here, but I love it. I can't believe I actually finished it...
Caramel apple tart, cinnamon mousse and granny smith sorbet - I was so full I decided not to have any cheese, and just wanted the dessert. I thought it was pretty good... especially at the end of a very rich meal. The acidity of the apples certainly helped.
MNSC dinners are about wine, and what a line-up we had tonight!
2000 De Sousa Cuvée des Caudalies - I had a bottle of the NV blanc de blancs here last year and loved it. The 2000 vintage is even better. Nose was very sweet with a little caramel, some oxidized pear, minerals, honey and marshmallow... I could get used to drinking this...
1991 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - A very beautiful wine. Lots of toast, minerals, popcorn, lemon, honey, smoke, sulfur... Nose was huge, fragrant and opulent, and the wine was incredibly smooth on the palate. 95 points.
1985 Jean Grivot Richebourg - this was struck off from scoring because it was a tiny bit corked. I thought it drank OK but with obvious vegetal notes, along with straw, smoke on top of the sweet fruit nose. Finish was pretty long.
1985 Gros Frère & Soeur Grands Echezeaux - easily my wine of the evening. I was blown away by the nose from the start. Sooooo perfumed, sweet, jammy but not overpowering... Totally, totally osmanthus (桂花) that kept on giving until the end of the evening when I finally finished the last sip. Also notes of orange, straw, and prunes. So smooth on the palate. An absolutely fantastic wine, and I'm going to get my hands on some of this! 99 points.
1985 Dujac Clos de la Roche - another beautiful and open wine, with cassis, floral, violet, black fruits and a little gamey. 95 points.
1985 Joseph Drouhin Musigny - much more closed than the Dujac, with more concentration. Fruit and sweet nose which opened up after a while, minty, smoky with some soy sauce. 93 points.
1985 DRC Romanée-Saint-Vivant - sweet nose with eucalyptus, spices, floral, gamey notes along with some mushrooms. Very lovely although at one point the sharpness of the alcohol became noticeable. 95 points.
1985 DRC Richebourg - another awesome wine, with smoked game meats, a little sous bois and floral notes. 96 points.
I was very, very stuffed and - in typical fashion - pretty drunk despite not having finished all the amazing wines in my glasses. It was a real treat to be able to taste all these wonderful '85s, and it was revealed at the end of the evening that the single source of tonight's reds was Altaya Wines. Well done!
Tonight I returned to Caprice as we gathered for another MNSC dinner. It's been a pretty rough month as far as financial markets go, so I was pretty happy to have an occasion to toast the end of this fairly miserable month...
MNSC dinners are about wine, and what a line-up we had tonight!
2000 De Sousa Cuvée des Caudalies - I had a bottle of the NV blanc de blancs here last year and loved it. The 2000 vintage is even better. Nose was very sweet with a little caramel, some oxidized pear, minerals, honey and marshmallow... I could get used to drinking this...
1991 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - A very beautiful wine. Lots of toast, minerals, popcorn, lemon, honey, smoke, sulfur... Nose was huge, fragrant and opulent, and the wine was incredibly smooth on the palate. 95 points.
1985 Jean Grivot Richebourg - this was struck off from scoring because it was a tiny bit corked. I thought it drank OK but with obvious vegetal notes, along with straw, smoke on top of the sweet fruit nose. Finish was pretty long.
1985 Gros Frère & Soeur Grands Echezeaux - easily my wine of the evening. I was blown away by the nose from the start. Sooooo perfumed, sweet, jammy but not overpowering... Totally, totally osmanthus (桂花) that kept on giving until the end of the evening when I finally finished the last sip. Also notes of orange, straw, and prunes. So smooth on the palate. An absolutely fantastic wine, and I'm going to get my hands on some of this! 99 points.
1985 Dujac Clos de la Roche - another beautiful and open wine, with cassis, floral, violet, black fruits and a little gamey. 95 points.
1985 Joseph Drouhin Musigny - much more closed than the Dujac, with more concentration. Fruit and sweet nose which opened up after a while, minty, smoky with some soy sauce. 93 points.
1985 DRC Romanée-Saint-Vivant - sweet nose with eucalyptus, spices, floral, gamey notes along with some mushrooms. Very lovely although at one point the sharpness of the alcohol became noticeable. 95 points.
1985 DRC Richebourg - another awesome wine, with smoked game meats, a little sous bois and floral notes. 96 points.
I was very, very stuffed and - in typical fashion - pretty drunk despite not having finished all the amazing wines in my glasses. It was a real treat to be able to taste all these wonderful '85s, and it was revealed at the end of the evening that the single source of tonight's reds was Altaya Wines. Well done!
May 29, 2010
Acker Hong Kong IX: ODing on auctions
Pin It
I skipped the morning session of day 2 of the Acker auction today. I woke up pretty early this morning, but wasn't feeling particularly great because of a general lack of sleep for a second day, plus honestly I had actually been sipping/drinking almost non-stop since 2pm... I was feeling a little lethargic, and since there was nothing I really wanted to bid on this morning, I decided to just stay home and play with my new iPad.
Initially I sat in the "general section" - filled with people like me who, whilst being clients of the auction house, are essentially nobodies in terms of business volume. After a while my friends invited me to join them at their VIP table, and I was only too happy to do so. While any wine being served at an Acker auction is of good quality and I would never complain about them, VIPs get a much better selection. When the Acker people bring around the rare stuff, my friends were generous enough to pour a portion of what's in their glass into mine. So I got to taste some pretty good stuff...
2000 Pichon-Lalande - classic nose of coffee, smoke, grilled meats and a little peppery. What you would expect from a Pauillac from this vintage.
1995 Gaja Costa Russi - smoky and coffee notes on top of a very sweet nose. What a wonderful wine... Finish was still kinda tannic, though... Drank from a second bottle later in the day which was also beautiful, with smoky and soy sauce notes.
1993 Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux - sweet red fruits with a hint of smoke. Acidity was pretty high. Honestly...if I actually paid for this bottle I'd be pretty disappointed...
1999 Rouget Echezeaux - I didn't see the vintage on the bottle, but guess it was the '99 that I drank last night. Nose was very open with game meats, very sweet, fruity and smoky. Acidity was fairly high. Judging by the nose alone this blew the Jayer away... But then again, it is a much better vintage.
1982 La Mission Haut-Brion - it's been a long time since I last tasted this wine, and it was nothing like I remembered! The nose was huge, with loads of smoke, soy sauce, dried oysters, a hint of brett and a bit of fruit struggling to break free. The wine was almost salty on the palate... Finally, there was some rust and nori (のり) seaweed on the nose.
2000 Guigal La Mouline - beautiful sweet fruit, mint, orange, a little gamey, a hint of floral notes I would expect from La Mouline. What a beautiful wine... I'd be happy drinking this any day of the week.
2006 Ausone - finally! My friend remembered that I was dying to taste this, and made sure I got some in my glass... Huge, explosive nose that was so jammy, minty, vanilla, tropical fruit, marzipan, with a hint of smoke, toffee and cinnamon. I loooooove this stuff. Yes, I do like very extracted wines...
2007 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet - way too cold when it was poured... Nose of butter, oak and minerals. Acidity was pretty high.
As usual, the early morning and early evening segments were the times where one is able to pick up some "bargains" - you actually see some lots selling for below the low-end estimate. The middle part of the sessions can get pretty crazy, with most of the lots selling towards the high end estimate or easily blowing through it. My friend told me about the bidding for the cases of DRC Montrachet, where the hammer price was almost 3 times the high end estimate. I'm sure the consignor was really happy!
There were long stretches where I wasn't interested in what was on offer, and was getting tired of marking down the hammer prices as I used to do. Fortunately I brought my iPad and ended up playing Uno... I think my friends got a kick out of this.
I managed to pick up a little more wine... some rare Alsatian Riesling, some Spanish Rioja from my birth vintage, and some old white Burgs to drink with mom and dad on their wedding anniversary. Pretty good day...
I skipped the morning session of day 2 of the Acker auction today. I woke up pretty early this morning, but wasn't feeling particularly great because of a general lack of sleep for a second day, plus honestly I had actually been sipping/drinking almost non-stop since 2pm... I was feeling a little lethargic, and since there was nothing I really wanted to bid on this morning, I decided to just stay home and play with my new iPad.
Initially I sat in the "general section" - filled with people like me who, whilst being clients of the auction house, are essentially nobodies in terms of business volume. After a while my friends invited me to join them at their VIP table, and I was only too happy to do so. While any wine being served at an Acker auction is of good quality and I would never complain about them, VIPs get a much better selection. When the Acker people bring around the rare stuff, my friends were generous enough to pour a portion of what's in their glass into mine. So I got to taste some pretty good stuff...
2000 Pichon-Lalande - classic nose of coffee, smoke, grilled meats and a little peppery. What you would expect from a Pauillac from this vintage.
1995 Gaja Costa Russi - smoky and coffee notes on top of a very sweet nose. What a wonderful wine... Finish was still kinda tannic, though... Drank from a second bottle later in the day which was also beautiful, with smoky and soy sauce notes.
1993 Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux - sweet red fruits with a hint of smoke. Acidity was pretty high. Honestly...if I actually paid for this bottle I'd be pretty disappointed...
1999 Rouget Echezeaux - I didn't see the vintage on the bottle, but guess it was the '99 that I drank last night. Nose was very open with game meats, very sweet, fruity and smoky. Acidity was fairly high. Judging by the nose alone this blew the Jayer away... But then again, it is a much better vintage.
1982 La Mission Haut-Brion - it's been a long time since I last tasted this wine, and it was nothing like I remembered! The nose was huge, with loads of smoke, soy sauce, dried oysters, a hint of brett and a bit of fruit struggling to break free. The wine was almost salty on the palate... Finally, there was some rust and nori (のり) seaweed on the nose.
2000 Guigal La Mouline - beautiful sweet fruit, mint, orange, a little gamey, a hint of floral notes I would expect from La Mouline. What a beautiful wine... I'd be happy drinking this any day of the week.
2006 Ausone - finally! My friend remembered that I was dying to taste this, and made sure I got some in my glass... Huge, explosive nose that was so jammy, minty, vanilla, tropical fruit, marzipan, with a hint of smoke, toffee and cinnamon. I loooooove this stuff. Yes, I do like very extracted wines...
2007 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet - way too cold when it was poured... Nose of butter, oak and minerals. Acidity was pretty high.
As usual, the early morning and early evening segments were the times where one is able to pick up some "bargains" - you actually see some lots selling for below the low-end estimate. The middle part of the sessions can get pretty crazy, with most of the lots selling towards the high end estimate or easily blowing through it. My friend told me about the bidding for the cases of DRC Montrachet, where the hammer price was almost 3 times the high end estimate. I'm sure the consignor was really happy!
There were long stretches where I wasn't interested in what was on offer, and was getting tired of marking down the hammer prices as I used to do. Fortunately I brought my iPad and ended up playing Uno... I think my friends got a kick out of this.
I managed to pick up a little more wine... some rare Alsatian Riesling, some Spanish Rioja from my birth vintage, and some old white Burgs to drink with mom and dad on their wedding anniversary. Pretty good day...
May 28, 2010
Acker Hong Kong IX: kicking off early
Pin It
Acker's back in Hong Kong with another auction, and like their first auction 2 years ago, they held it right after Vinexpo ended. This time they called it the "Imperial Cellar", as the collection on sale came from a single seller and would make just about any wine lover very jealous. The headline number was HKD 125 million...
Because of the large number of lots on sale, the first session of the auction started earlier than usual at 3pm today. My friend and I arrived not long after it started, as we both wanted to bid on lots in the early part of the session. As usual I ran into a few friends, and was pleasantly surprised to see François Mauss from Grand Jury Européen.
I managed to win a lot consisting of 3 cases of white Burgundy from arguably the best producer in the region, going slightly above the high estimate to grab it.
I took a short break from the auction and returned to the office to finish up the daily routine. Yes, I had work to do... eating and drinking isn't my day job... Anyway, I stepped back into the auction room just as they were finishing up another lot I wanted to bid on, and before I realized what was going on, the hammer went down and someone else had grabbed the wines. Aargh!!!
There were now wines on the tables as it was approaching dinner time. And I was only too happy to start sipping wines and continued for the rest of the evening.
2003 Haut-Brion - smoked meats, mint, black fruits, sweet, almost honeydew. Still kinda tannic. After half an hour, it transformed into an amazing wine with a huge, sweet nose like toffee. I initially stopped by to visit my friend as they were drinking 2006 Ausone at her VIP table, but this was what she poured me instead of the Ausone...
1999 Rouget Echezeaux - sweet and honeyed with a little caramel, some orange, a little smoky and a little bit of moss. This was my second, subtle attempt at getting a glass of the 2006 Ausone, and I still failed to get one! Oh well...
1997 Masseto - my friend open this bottle in honor of the man who made this wine, Lodovico Antinori. Unfortunately it didn't turn out the way I expected. Nose was pretty funky, with smoke, black pepper, paprika and stewed fruit. I last tasted this wine back in early 2002, and it had been sweet and jammy.
1985 Solaia - again, this was drunk with Lodovico whose brother Piero made the wine. I liked this bottle much better... Nose was a little oxidized with street strawberries, smoke, a little vegetal with green pepper, herbs and soy sauce. I almost wanted to say dried bean curd (豆腐干)...
2005 Méo-Camuzet Morey-Saint-Denis - nose was a little muted at first, with mint, pine needle and red fruits.
1995 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Faletto di Serralunga d'Alba - a very interesting wine to drink. The color was now golden brown with amber rim, and very deceiving. The nose was a little high in alcohol, with lots of sweetness like honeydew and some light glycerin.
2007 George Vintage V Leras Family Vineyard Pinot Noir - I was so surprised when the guys at Acker brought this out... I love this wine! This was such a classic Cali Pinot, with lots of sweetness, caramel, toffee, cotton candy, raspberry, oxidized pear and mint. Beautiful and lovely.
2000 La Mondotte - drank pretty nicely after breathing for a long time. It was surprisingly old world... sweet but not too extracted, with mint, smoke, forest and a little floral.
2007 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet - lots of minerals, citrus, cheese, straw, toast, popcorn, a little butter...ripe and sweet. A beautiful wine.
A lady from Acker came over with a bottle of 2007 Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet. My friends all gestured that they did not wish to taste it, and she subsequently misunderstood my gesture... I wasn't waving her off! When I got up after her to try to get a glass, I was told by the hotel staff following her that there was no more wine, as I saw her pouring the rest of the bottle for the group of investment bankers (from the bank that's been in the headlines lately) at the next table...
2000 Trotanoy - very classic and a great wine. Lots of smoke, pencil lead and soy sauce on top of the fruit.
We left before the end of the first session, and ended up grabbing some food at Sumi (澄). I had eaten some food at the buffet dinner, so I restrained myself. I did go home and grabbed my last bottle of Kokuryu Shizuku (黒龍しずく). This daiginjo (大吟醸) with a semaibuai (精米歩合) of 35% drank beautifully. It was sweet and smooth, with tropical fruits like banana in the nose. Fortunately my apartment was only a stone's throw away and it was easy for me tocrawl (oops) stagger (oops) walk home...
Acker's back in Hong Kong with another auction, and like their first auction 2 years ago, they held it right after Vinexpo ended. This time they called it the "Imperial Cellar", as the collection on sale came from a single seller and would make just about any wine lover very jealous. The headline number was HKD 125 million...
Because of the large number of lots on sale, the first session of the auction started earlier than usual at 3pm today. My friend and I arrived not long after it started, as we both wanted to bid on lots in the early part of the session. As usual I ran into a few friends, and was pleasantly surprised to see François Mauss from Grand Jury Européen.
I managed to win a lot consisting of 3 cases of white Burgundy from arguably the best producer in the region, going slightly above the high estimate to grab it.
I took a short break from the auction and returned to the office to finish up the daily routine. Yes, I had work to do... eating and drinking isn't my day job... Anyway, I stepped back into the auction room just as they were finishing up another lot I wanted to bid on, and before I realized what was going on, the hammer went down and someone else had grabbed the wines. Aargh!!!
There were now wines on the tables as it was approaching dinner time. And I was only too happy to start sipping wines and continued for the rest of the evening.
2003 Haut-Brion - smoked meats, mint, black fruits, sweet, almost honeydew. Still kinda tannic. After half an hour, it transformed into an amazing wine with a huge, sweet nose like toffee. I initially stopped by to visit my friend as they were drinking 2006 Ausone at her VIP table, but this was what she poured me instead of the Ausone...
1999 Rouget Echezeaux - sweet and honeyed with a little caramel, some orange, a little smoky and a little bit of moss. This was my second, subtle attempt at getting a glass of the 2006 Ausone, and I still failed to get one! Oh well...
1997 Masseto - my friend open this bottle in honor of the man who made this wine, Lodovico Antinori. Unfortunately it didn't turn out the way I expected. Nose was pretty funky, with smoke, black pepper, paprika and stewed fruit. I last tasted this wine back in early 2002, and it had been sweet and jammy.
1985 Solaia - again, this was drunk with Lodovico whose brother Piero made the wine. I liked this bottle much better... Nose was a little oxidized with street strawberries, smoke, a little vegetal with green pepper, herbs and soy sauce. I almost wanted to say dried bean curd (豆腐干)...
2005 Méo-Camuzet Morey-Saint-Denis - nose was a little muted at first, with mint, pine needle and red fruits.
1995 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Faletto di Serralunga d'Alba - a very interesting wine to drink. The color was now golden brown with amber rim, and very deceiving. The nose was a little high in alcohol, with lots of sweetness like honeydew and some light glycerin.
2007 George Vintage V Leras Family Vineyard Pinot Noir - I was so surprised when the guys at Acker brought this out... I love this wine! This was such a classic Cali Pinot, with lots of sweetness, caramel, toffee, cotton candy, raspberry, oxidized pear and mint. Beautiful and lovely.
2000 La Mondotte - drank pretty nicely after breathing for a long time. It was surprisingly old world... sweet but not too extracted, with mint, smoke, forest and a little floral.
2007 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet - lots of minerals, citrus, cheese, straw, toast, popcorn, a little butter...ripe and sweet. A beautiful wine.
A lady from Acker came over with a bottle of 2007 Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet. My friends all gestured that they did not wish to taste it, and she subsequently misunderstood my gesture... I wasn't waving her off! When I got up after her to try to get a glass, I was told by the hotel staff following her that there was no more wine, as I saw her pouring the rest of the bottle for the group of investment bankers (from the bank that's been in the headlines lately) at the next table...
2000 Trotanoy - very classic and a great wine. Lots of smoke, pencil lead and soy sauce on top of the fruit.
We left before the end of the first session, and ended up grabbing some food at Sumi (澄). I had eaten some food at the buffet dinner, so I restrained myself. I did go home and grabbed my last bottle of Kokuryu Shizuku (黒龍しずく). This daiginjo (大吟醸) with a semaibuai (精米歩合) of 35% drank beautifully. It was sweet and smooth, with tropical fruits like banana in the nose. Fortunately my apartment was only a stone's throw away and it was easy for me to
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
